Religions
October 6, 2023
Erik Kuravsky
This essay relates a Heideggerian interpretation of metaphysics, as determined by an interpretation of Being in terms of a priori laws/essences, to a traditionally passive model of experience. The spiritual principles of the Christian and the Buddhist experience of the Nothing are shown as an overcoming of this model and an overcoming of metaphysics. The essay displays the ways in which...
The Polish Journal of the Arts and Culture
October 1, 2023
Wojciech Kościuczyk
This paper is an analysis of Thomas Metzinger’s self-model theory of subjectivity (SMT). Metzinger claims that beyond the biological organism and its properties, there is no individual and distinct entity that can be regarded as “self”. What really exists is the phenomenal sense of being self, which creates the illusion of the existence of something permanent. Taking the concepts of David Hume...
SMARATUNGGA JURNAL OF EDUCATION AND BUDDHIST STUDIES
October 1, 2023
Eran Laish
The assertion of a state which is unconditioned and beyond temporal change creates unavoidable tensions for any Buddhist account that concerns the shift from worldly experience to a liberated one. The presence of such tensions can be found in the controversy between simultaneous (cig char; yugapad) and gradual (rim gyis; krameṇa) conceptions of the contemplative path and the state of liberation...
Mindfulness
October 1, 2023
Bhikkhu Anālayo
AbstractAn exploration of the relatively rare references to skill in means in early Buddhist texts points to a close relationship to the cultivation of mindfulness, under the overarching aim of establishing the mind in wholesome conditions and preventing the arising of what is unwholesome. At the same time, however, a particular narrative related to the Buddha’s half-brother Nanda and his...
The Korean Society of Culture and Convergence
September 30, 2023
Jung-seop Youm, Kangsuk Shon, Bang-Hyun Shin et al.
The purpose of this study is to identify the experience of pilgrimage meditation targeting pilgrims in Buddhist holy places in order to understand the experience of pilgrimage meditation, and to identify the elements that should be included in the definition of pilgrimage meditation in order to clarify the definition of pilgrimage meditation. The study was conducted in two phases. The results...
Anthropologica
September 28, 2023
Géraldine Mossière
1 citation
Spirituality in the Narrative: A Detour Via GenealogyY oga, meditation, personal development movements, New Age esoteric practices, shamanic rituals, East or South Asian-based beliefs: Today, more and more activities are defined as "spiritual."While most of these activities are inspired by specific cosmologies that have their own representations of the world, derived practices are usually...
Neuropsychologia
September 28, 2023
Avijit Chowdhury, Remko Van Lutterveld, Ruben Laukkonen et al.
54 citations
Mindfulness meditation is a contemplative practice informed by Buddhism that targets the development of present-focused awareness and non-judgment of experience. Interest in mindfulness is burgeoning, and it has been shown to be effective in improving mental and physical health in clinical and non-clinical contexts. In this report, for the first time, we used electroencephalography (EEG)...
Pastoral Psychology
September 21, 2023
Alejandro Eros, Thomas G. Plante
4 citations
Abstract Contemplative practices have likely been used for self-awareness, concentration, creativity, and well-being since the dawn of time. While practices such as yoga and Buddhist meditation have been extensively studied in recent decades, Christian contemplative practices have received less attention in empirical research. This study aims to investigate the effects of centering prayer, a...
Journal of Contemplative Studies
September 18, 2023
Bin Song
1 citation
This study delves into Cheng Yi’s (程頤, 1033–1107) Ruist (Confucian) contemplative practices, addressing a gap in contemplative studies from a Ruist perspective. As a seminal thinker in the Cheng-Zhu lineage, Cheng Yi developed various practices, including quiet-sitting meditation, beholding, calligraphy, restful sleep, and others. These practices incorporate techniques such as sitting postures,...
Rethinking Meditation
September 14, 2023
David L. Mcmahan
Abstract: Contemplations of the insides of bodies and of corpses in early meditation literature show that seeing the body “as it is” was not bare, nonconceptual, value-neutral awareness but a matter of highlighting the body’s vulnerability and foulness and creating a sense of detachment and distaste toward it. Other meditations in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta present Buddhist taxonomies through which...